The earth is the Lord’s

This is a picture of a mother bear and her cub who became stranded on an ice floe. They could no longer hunt for food because they were at sea. This is what climate change looks like. This is just part of the damage that we are doing to the world. These two creatures of God starved a few days later.

For nearly 300 years Moravians have used daily watchwords from the Bible as part of their spirituality. The texts for each day are chosen in Herrnhut more than a year in advance. I was wandering around the COP22 exhibitions yesterday (Nov. 17) when I received the texts for the day in my email. They were perfect for the occasion:

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Deuteronomy 10:14 (NASB)

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. Romans 1:20

One of the most distressing things for me in the recent election is that so many Christians voted people who deny climate change and who believe that humans have no responsibility to care for the earth. I have found that many Christian churches, including the Moravian Church do not place the doctrine of creation at the center of their theology, but the Daily Text reminds us that the earth is the Lord’s. This world is God’s creation and God loves the world.

I meditated upon these texts while looking at the NASA display of carbon in the atmosphere. Most of that carbon came from humans burning fossil fuels and other things. Some of it is from the wildfires that have increased because of climate change. The earth is the Lord’s and yet we are covering the skies with greenhouse gasses and ruining the health of the planet.

It is sinful to mar God’s creation wantonly and without regard for the harm that we do. We Christians are called to love God and love our neighbors. Surely that includes taking steps to address the climate change problem even if it means that we need to change our economy. It is time for Christians to repent. If our politicians do not lead, the people must.

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By theflamingheretic, on November 18, 2016 at 5:21 am, under Uncategorized. No Comments